The present invention relates generally to business information networks. More specifically, preferred embodiments of the present invention relate to the integration of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) into such networks. Many goods are manufactured using the supply chain model. A supply chain is a group of companies that individually manufacture, assemble, or distribute goods, parts or components that are incorporated into other items and then passed to the next company in the chain. As an example, automobile manufacturers use this model to describe manufacture of automobiles. The automobile is the ultimate consumer good. Automobile manufacturers are placed in the class of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as they supply the goods used by consumers.
In making an automobile, the OEM purchases parts from a plurality of suppliers. Referring to FIG. 1, the OEM 101 manufactures automobiles that are purchased and used by consumers 100. Some of the parts that go into making the car include brake pads, the engine, and tires, to name but a few. In order to make brake pads, brake pad manufacturers 110a and 110b purchase enhanced materials from synthetic materials supplier 120. In order to make an engine, engine manufacturer 111 purchases spark plugs and ball bearings from other manufacturers or suppliers 121 and 122. In order to make tires, the tire manufacturer 112 purchases rubber and steel belts from other suppliers/manufacturers 123 and 124.
Similarly, consulting firm 113 supplies consulting services to OEM 101. Examples of services include technical consulting, accounting and legal services. Those companies who supply goods and/or services directly to an OEM are called primary suppliers. Those companies that supply goods and/or services to the supply chain, but not directly to OEMs are called secondary suppliers. In the example shown in FIG. 1, primary suppliers are represented by 110–113 and the secondary suppliers are represented by 120–124. Secondary suppliers often sell to other secondary suppliers.
As can be seen from this example, the large companies, in this case OEM 101, rely on the SMEs 110–112 and 120–124 to manufacture important parts and components used in the ultimate goods. Thus, if a mistake or other problem occurs in production of tires from tire manufacturer 112 such that OEM 101 does not have enough tires to put on its automobiles, OEM's production of automobiles would likely cease until either the one supplier 112 resumes production or OEM 101 obtains tires from another supplier. Similar problems can occur in the other companies such as the ball bearings manufacture 121. If the ball bearing manufacturer 121 cannot increase production, perhaps due to a lack in steel production from steel producer 124, the engine manufacturer 111 will likely be unable to make more engines and OEM 101 cannot therefore make more automobiles.
There are ways that an OEM may compensate for an unexpected delay in production from one of its SMEs. One way is to stock up on certain products when the supply is good. Thus, when a tire manufacturer 112 is producing at full output, an automobile manufacturer 101 will purchase more than it needs and inventory the excess. When a tire manufacturer 112 slows production for whatever reason, an automobile manufacturer 101 can use its inventory to make up for the deficiencies. While this solution solves some problems, it incurs the added cost of warehousing these excess tires at an OEM-controlled site.
Another problem with supply chain production is the lack of knowledge amongst the chain members. Typically, the OEM 101 does not know the inventory of lower members in the chain. The OEM 101 cannot increase production of a good if it does not know what its supply of parts will be in the near future. If an OEM 101 knows the inventories of its supplier SMEs 110–112 and 120–124, it can increase production, of automobiles in this example, and simply obtain appropriate inventories of brake pads, engines, and tires from SMEs 110–112. Similarly, if primary suppliers 110–113 know the inventories of secondary suppliers 120–124, they too can increase production and relieve the secondary suppliers 120–124 of their respective inventories. Thus, by having the knowledge of it's supply chain partners' business operations, OEM 101 can increase production knowing that its primary and secondary suppliers will provide for the increased demand in parts.
In order to obtain this business information about the SMEs, the OEMs have conventionally resorted to direct communication between themselves such as electronic data interchange (EDI). Simply put, an employee at an OEM calls an employee at an SME in a chain and asks for a status of the SME's inventory. This request can also take the form of a facsimile letter, a regular letter, an express letter, an e-mail message, or other forms of communication. In all order to obtain a response, the OEM employee will often interrupt the SME employee so that the SME employee can answer the question either verbally or via a written communication. If the SME is understaffed, the request for data may languish at the SME before it is answered. Thus, this method of obtaining information often requires time between when the OEM employee makes a request for information and when the SME employee is available to provide the requested information.
These inefficient methods of collecting SME information are compounded if the OEM is seeking information from a group of suppliers. Suppose OEM 101 accepts brake pads from both SMEs 110a and 110b. If OEM 101 desires to increase production of automobiles, an OEM employee will have to send a message to SME 110a and 110b. That employee will then have to sift through the responses and determine if one or both of SMEs 110a and 110b can provide the sought after brake pads.
Other conventional solutions to the “information problem” have been custom designed for only a few individuals in the chain. Some of these custom solutions utilize a private or semi-private network and require every participant to use the same (or interchangeable) custom or equivalent inventory software. Thus, suppliers who desire or are otherwise coerced by the OEM to take advantage of these custom solutions will incur the costs (potentially quite large costs to the SMEs) of buying custom software, and converting their current inventory and other data from the supplier's preferred formats to the format in the custom solution. Not only will the supplier incur these costs, but it will also be abandoning a system it prefers for the new custom system. This solution is expensive and labor intensive, and therefore may not be a desirable or practical option for the smaller suppliers who cannot afford to spend additional resources for custom software or workforce to do the conversion, and/or networks.
These problems exist, in part, because enterprise resource planning (ERP) software providers have focused on large organizations able to afford the six and seven figure installation, implementation, training, and maintenance costs long associated with their packages. Supply chain software providers have focused primarily on specialized software solutions complementing these ERP systems. SMEs have often been reluctant to invest in these large systems.
There is therefore a need for solutions, which integrate SMEs into business information networks without the large-scale solutions currently offered.